


Take It Slow

by SKW



Series: Markhyuck High School [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cuddling, Donghyuck plays basketball, Insecurities, Kissing, M/M, Mark is the best boyfriend, talking about sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 06:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18255446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SKW/pseuds/SKW
Summary: As much as Donghyuck could joke about going all the way, give their friends the impression that they had crossed every boundary, the truth was that they hadn’t- and Donghyuck was terrified.





	Take It Slow

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for any typos- this was purely midnight inspiration!

Donghyuck slipped his hoodie over his head and slung his basketball bag over his shoulder, saying goodbye to Jaemin and exiting the locker room. Their coach was stressed for their game the next day, and so practice had gone late. The sun had already set, and the November air was crisp, but the way it swept over Donghyuck’s sweaty skin was pleasant. The parking lot was dark and deserted of people- only the vehicles of his teammates remained- but under the yellow light of a street lamp, Donghyuck spotted his ride.

Donghyuck approached the car. He saw Mark inside, frowning at something on his phone. He crept up to the passenger window, and rapped his knuckles sharply on the glass. Mark jumped slightly, and Donghyuck grinned. The older boy sighed and lowered the window.

“I’m only letting you in if you apologize,” he said gravely. Donghyuck folded his arms and leaned on the car, sticking his head inside as far as the window would allow.

“I’m sorry you scare so easily,” he said.

Mark narrowed his eyes. “Get in, you look stupid.”

Donghyuck smiled, once again victorious, and waited for Mark to unlock the door.

“How was your practice?” Mark asked as Donghyuck got inside and tossed his bag in the backseat. Donghyuck sighed tiredly, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

“Stressful. Coach Jung is going to murder us if we don’t play well tomorrow,” Donghyuck said, sinking low in his seat and pouting up at Mark.

“I’ll be there,” Mark replied. Donghyuck’s heart seized. Mark, his book-smart but not necessarily athletically-inclined boyfriend attending his games with his (nerd) friends was one of the sweetest gestures Donghyuck has ever recieved. Although the lighting was low, Donghyuck could still see the shine in his eyes, the sincerity in his smile. He moved closer to Mark, bracing a forearm onto the cool leather of the center console.

“Thank you,” he murmured, eyes drifting to Mark’s lips. The car seemed to heat up as Mark leaned in close enough for their noses to brush.  
Donghyuck was the one to close the distance, pressing their lips together in a sweet, chaste kiss. Warmth rushed through Donghyuck’s stomach as Mark sighed softly into the kiss. Donghyuck couldn’t help himself, bringing his arms up to wrap around Mark’s neck and hold the older boy close. Mark’s hand splayed across Donghyuck’s lower back as their kiss became too heated, perhaps, for their school parking lot. Mark pulled away, a wild look in his eyes, when Donghyuck’s tongue swept into Mark’s mouth. Donghyuck’s head spun as Mark cleared his throat, putting the car in drive and pulling out of the parking lot. He barely remembered to buckle his seatbelt.

“What’d you wanna do tonight?” Mark asked. His voice sounded calm, but Donghyuck noticed the pink glow high on his cheeks.

“Shower,” Donghyuck mumbled.

“And then?”

“Sleep.”

Mark huffed as the light turned red. He looked over at Donghyuck. The younger boy laughed at Mark’s expression of frustration. “And in-between?”

Donghyuck wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I don’t know, what’d you wanna do?”

“Stop,” Mark all but whined. “We could watch a show?”

“M’kay,” Donghyuck acquiesced. ‘Watching a show’ had become a code name for cuddling in front of the TV and making out a little. “But I’ll probably fall asleep.”

“That’s okay,” Mark said. They fell silent as Mark drove carefully down a road that wound through the woods, watching for deer. Donghyuck’s mind drifted. Although he and Mark had known each other since the beginning of high school, they’d only been together romantically for a couple of months. And, contrary to what their friends assumed, they hadn’t gone that far together. They’d kissed a lot- horizontally, even, a few times- but they’d never gone farther than that.

As he thought about cuddling up to Mark to watch a movie, and what could possibly happen after that, Donghyuck felt nerves bubble up in his stomach. He instantly felt stupid. This was Mark they were talking about- shy, clumsy, nerdy Mark- there was no reason he should feel nervous. But, he wasn’t sure what Mark expected from him. How far the older boy wanted to go.

He didn’t even know how far Mark had gone before, with other people. He’d had at least two relationships preceding Donghyuck, but Donghyuck was still a virgin. They were seniors, and yet Mark was his first boyfriend, his first kiss that hadn’t been a dare. He couldn’t help but feel insecure about his inexperience sometimes, especially after hearing about all of the things that his kids his age were doing.

As much as Donghyuck could joke about going all the way, give their friends the impression that they had crossed every boundary, the truth was that they hadn’t- and Donghyuck was terrified.

Mark’s hand rested on Donghyuck’s knee, bringing him back to Earth. Donghyuck realized, with a jolt, that they were almost to Mark’s house.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked softly. His hand on Donghyuck’s leg was a comforting presence, cool against Donghyuck’s overheated skin.

“School. Calculus is draining the life out of me,” Donghyuck lied. Well, it wasn’t complete lie.

“You know I can help you with that,” Mark said, a smile curving the corner of his mouth. Mark had taken calculus when he was a sophomore, of course he had.

“No thanks. You don’t need to know the extent of my stupidity.”

“Math isn’t for everyone,” Mark pulled into the garage.

“Only for weirdos like Mark Lee,” Donghyuck said under his breath as he got out of the car. He followed Mark inside. His house was completely dark, and Mark guided Donghyuck to the kitchen with a hand on his wrist, even though Donghyuck had definitely been in Mark’s house often enough to navigate it in the dark.

“My parents are at a concert,” he explained, dropping his keys on the kitchen table. Mark’s cat rubbed against Donghyuck’s ankles, and Donghyuck instantly dropped to his knees to pet her.

“I don’t suppose you have any clothes to change into,” Mark said. Donghyuck gave him a guilty smile.

“Nope.”

Donghyuck followed him down the stairs to Mark’s room in the basement, far away from his parents’ room upstairs. It was one of Mark’s crowning achievements, convincing his older brother Johnny to let him have his downstairs bedroom after moving out. As far as Donghyuck knew, the most scandalous thing Mark had done with this piece of freedom was stay up until five A.M. playing Fortnite with Renjun and Jeno on the enormous TV.

“Soon I won’t have any clothes left,” Mark warned, flicking on the lights in his bathroom and closet. Donghyuck thought about the two sweatshirts, one pair of sweatpants, and at least five t-shirts of Mark’s that he was currently hoarding, and shrugged.

“Too bad,” he said, accepting the pile of clothes Mark handed him and heading for the bathroom. He locked the door behind him, stripped himself of his clothes and climbed into the shower. He should be used to it by now, the scent of sweaty basketball clothes, but it still made him feel gross.

Mark’s shower was nice, a large area closed off by glass sliding doors and marble walls. In fact, his whole house was nice, modern and on a large, private plot of land. Mark didn’t seem like the kind of kid to come from a wealthy upbringing. He’d never bragged about his parents’ money, and the first time Donghyuck had come to his house he was shocked. Donghyuck’s home was definitely more modest. After all, it was just him and his mom.

Donghyuck relished in the feeling of hot water against his sore back and shoulders. He used Mark’s shampoo and conditioner to wash his hair, lathering up his body afterward with a fruity body wash. He finally emerged from the shower after at least 20 minutes. Mark had left him with gray sweatpants, a faded blue t-shirt, and a pair of briefs, which he couldn’t help but blush at. He got dressed quickly, suddenly feeling guilty for making Mark wait by himself for so long. He dried his hair quickly with a towel, applied moisturizer to his face, and stepped out of the bathroom.

The TV was mounted on the opposite side of the room as the bathroom, and Mark’s sitting on the long couch across from the TV. The top of Mark’s head peeks out over the back of the couch. A blanket covers most of his body, but Donghyuck can see that he’s scrolling through Instagram. Grey’s Anatomy is muted on the TV.

“Hey,” he says as he hops over the back of the couch, landing next to Mark.

“Hey. Was it too difficult to walk around like a normal person?” Mark teases.

“Yes, definitely,” Donghyuck says. He reaches across Mark’s lap for the button that reclines the couch and pulls a portion of the blanket onto himself. He presses his cold feet against Mark’s calves. Mark groans at the sensation.

“I’m making you wear socks next time,” He says. Donghyuck hums, resting his head on Mark’s shoulder and staring up at the older. He enjoys the way the tendon in Mark’s neck appears as he reaches for the remote. Mark pulls up his Netflix.

“Stranger Things?” Mark asks.

“Stranger Things.” Donghyuck replies. It had become their show to watch together, pinky promising each other that neither of them would watch it without the other.

“Okay,” Mark says. He presses play on the episode and flicks off the lamp. The television is the only light in the room, and Donghyuck can already feel sleep pulling at his eyelids. The temptation to close his eyes and pass out on Mark’s shoulder is strong, but he also needs to know what happens in the show, so he makes the decision to stay awake.

Mark lays down as much as he can without his feet hanging off the recliner and stretches his arm so that Donghyuck can curl up against his side. Donghyuck does so happily, resting his hand on Mark’s chest and hooking his leg around Mark’s waist. Mark’s hand comes around to scratch gently at Donghyuck’s back, and he practically melts.

Concentrating on the show while laying half on top of Mark is difficult, and by the end of the show Donghyuck is worn out and sleepy. He can feel Mark’s cheek press against the top of his head.

“You smell like me,” Mark murmurs as the credits begin. Donghyuck’s stomach flips at the huskiness of Mark’s voice.

“Hopefully I smell better than you,” Donghyuck teases. It was a clear lie, if the way Donghyuck gladly buried his face into Mark’s neck was any indication.

Mark, experiencing a sudden burst of energy, reaches for the remote and turns off the TV, plunging them into darkness. Mark reaches to turn on the lamp. Donghyuck whines as he’s jostled from his comfortable position. Mark untangles their limbs and stands up.

“Come back,” Donghyuck whines, curling up in the warm space that Mark left. Mark reaches out his hands for Donghyuck to presumably take.

“C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

“Carry me,” Donghyuck says, reaching out his hands.

“Babe, we’re the same weight,” Mark laughs, grabbing Donghyuck’s hands and pulling him off the couch. Donghyuck stumbles forward into Mark’s chest.

“I don’t care,” Donghyuck grumbles as Mark leads them into his room.

The door clicks shut behind the pair. Mark clambers onto his bed, sliding onto the side closer to the wall and leaving a space for Donghyuck. Donghyuck feels more awake now that he’s standing up, and his predicament has made itself present in his mind again, as much as he’d tried to force it out.

“Donghyuck?” Mark frowns at the younger boy who stands in the middle of the room looking lost. “Donghyuck, what’s wrong?”

Donghyuck knows that this issue will eat away at him if he doesn’t talk to Mark about it, and so he takes a deep breath and perches on the edge of Mark’s bed. Mark, sensing a serious conversation, sits up.

“Do you want to go farther?” Donghyuck says, forcing the words out.

“What do you mean?” Mark’s eyebrows furrow, and he looks absolutely adorable, but Donghyuck wishes that he could read in between the lines so that Donghyuck didn’t have to explicitly explain what he meant.

“I just thought that maybe you expected, like, sex, or something,” Donghyuck says, voice small. His cheeks are flaming now, but it feels good to finally get the words out into the air. Mark looks equally flustered, hands clenched in the comforter.

“Of course I-” he starts, but then lowers his voice, placing a hand over Donghyuck’s. “Donghyuck, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. Of course I want to go there with you. But only when you’re ready and when I’m ready.”

Donghyuck feels love for the boy in front of him bloom in his chest, choking in its power. Why did he ever worry about this? Of course Mark would be perfectly understanding and ready to wait.

“Okay. Thank you,” he says, stress flooding out of his body. Mark pulls him into a tight hug. Donghyuck takes deep breaths to try to slow his racing heart. The familiar scents of Mark’s cologne and laundry detergent are soothing.

“Please don’t worry about this,” Mark says, pulling back to look Donghyuck in the eye. His hands cradle Donghyuck’s face. “We’ll figure it out together, I promise.”

Donghyuck cries easily. All it takes is a strong emotion, positive or negative. He’s sure that now his eyes are shiny with unshed tears. Mark’s thumb brushes against his cheekbone. Donghyuck can’t stop himself from leaning forward and kissing Mark hard, tangling his fingers in the older boy’s hair and straddling his hips. Mark kisses back eagerly, hands slipping up the back of Donghyuck’s shirt.

They break apart with shiny lips, panting. Mark collapses against the headboard, and Donghyuck falls back against one of Mark’s pillows.

“Are you okay?” Mark asks after catching his breath.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck hums, and he’s not lying. His heart feels like it’s glowing. “I’m tired,” he mumbles, eyes slipping shut.

“Okay,” Mark laughs, reaching to turn the light off. “Goodnight,

Donghyuck can feel Mark’s hand carding through his hair. He smiles softly. “Night, Mark.”


End file.
